Attorney Profiles ~ H-N

Mary Haberland manages the Centralized Telephone Intake Unit (CTI) at Bay Area Legal Services. She came to BALS in 1985 as a Reginald Heber Smith Community Law Fellow. Mary earned a business degree from the University of Wisconsin before graduating from the University of Nebraska College of Law. She has held a number of management positions within our firm and has been a presenter at state and national conferences. In 2002 Mary created BALS’ Legal Aid Line, our five-county telephone intake program. She also developed the Florida Senior Legal Helpline, a free statewide legal advice and referral helpline for elderly Floridians.

Cherilyn Hansen joined BALS as an Equal Justice Works fellow sponsored by the Florida Bar Foundation and Greenberg Traurig, LLP. She works to ensure that homeless veterans have access to the legal system through community outreach and direct client representation. Prior to her fellowship, Cherilyn received a B.A. from USF majoring in Anthropology, a M.A. in International Affairs from GW, and a J.D. from Stetson Law. Her goal is to create partnerships to find veterans who need legal services that can often help them stay out of poverty. This includes helping veterans and their families navigate the complex VA system.

Jim Hengelbrok is Team Leader of the Tampa Family Law Team. After graduating from Xavier University and the University of Notre Dame Law School, he started with Bay Area Legal Services in 1980. Jim has practiced family law, primarily on behalf of domestic violence victims, for over 25 years. Jim speaks Spanish, and assists many immigrant victims of family violence. He was one of the founders of the Family Justice Center of Hillsborough County, which served many thousands of abuse victims from 2006 through 2013.

Jennifer L. Hodges is a staff attorney in the New Port Richey office. She went to law school with the desire to help victims of domestic violence and participated in the Family Law Externship which allowed her to assist victims in preparing applications for injunctions and attend ex parte appearances under the supervision of licensed attorneys. Jennifer has practiced in the area of family law since the beginning of her career in 2003, representing parents in divorce, custody, child support, neglect/dependency, and termination of parental rights proceedings. She received her law degree from Pace University School of Law in 2002.

Elaine Holmes represents domestic violence clients in West Pasco County. She became a lawyer in 1977, and has Martindale-Hubbell’s AV rating. Elaine came to BALS in 2007 for public interest law, which she finds richly rewarding. Before that, Elaine was in private practice specializing in real property, non-profit entities, and government law. Elaine was recognized by the West Pasco Domestic Violence Task Force in 2008 and 2010. She is past Treasurer and board member of the West Pasco Bar Association. Elaine earned a psychology degree from the Florida State University before graduating from FSU College of Law.

Jena Hudson received her BA degree cum laude from Rollins College and her law degree from Stetson University College of Law. Jena is the Pro Bono Manager for the Bay Area Volunteer Lawyers Program (BAVLP). She previously worked on the Family Law Team, the Centralized Telephone Intake Team and the Senior Advocacy Unit. Jena served on the Board of Directors for the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers from 2007 – 2017 and held several leadership positions, including Vice President of Membership and Secretary. Jena was selected as one of the Top Non-Profit attorneys by Florida Trend’s Legal Elite from 2011 through 2016.

Alyse Kauget is a Staff Attorney with CTI. She joined BALS in July 2008. Alyse graduated from the University of Delaware with a B.A. in English and Psychology. She earned her J.D. from Touro College, Jacob D. Fuschberg Law Center in New York. Before joining BALS, Alyse was employed in private practice handling probate and foreclosure matters. She also has worked as a Staff Attorney for Gulfcoast Legal Services.

Raeseen Kennedy is a staff attorney in the New Port Richey office, where she assists victims of domestic violence. Raeseen graduated from the University of West Florida with a B.A. in Legal Studies and Journalism. She received her J.D. from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. While in law school, she interned for The Honorable Judge Tracy Sheehan of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. Raeseen joined BALS in June 2017 as a volunteer and was promoted to a staff attorney position in 2018.

Erin D. King is a staff attorney with the BAVLP. Erin earned her Bachelors degree in Psychology from Spelman College and graduated from Florida Coastal School of Law. She worked as a new graduate for the BAVLP before being sworn in to the Florida Bar, and became a staff attorney thereafter. Erin is the Supervising Attorney for the Family Forms Clinic and serves as an Assisting Attorney for the Client Intake Project. She also assists with managing pro bono case files and updates the legal resources used to aid and advise clients for client intake.

C. Martin “Marty” Lawyer, III is the most-experienced attorney at BALS. Marty received his undergraduate degree from Brown University in 1963 and his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1970. Marty has provided representation in every conceivable type of civil legal case and has appeared in federal and state courts and administrative agencies at all levels. Substantively, Marty specializes in housing law. Functionally, Marty is a trial and appellate attorney. Marty was lead counsel in the national landmark case of Basco v. Machin, 514 F.3d 1177 (11th Cir. 2008).

Dorothea Lee is a staff attorney with the CTI Team, primarily handling cases with private and subsidized housing or consumer related issues for the Legal Aid Line and Florida Senior Legal Helpline. From 2006 to mid-2011, Dorothea was a staff attorney with BALS’ St. Petersburg office, where she advised CTI clients about a variety of legal issues, and provided representation in housing related cases. Dorothea has a degree in Business Administration from the University of South Florida, a law degree from Stetson University College of Law, and a Master of Divinity degree from Emory University.

Nancy M. Lugo joined BALS in 1999. As Attorney Coordinator for BAVLP’s “No Place Like Home” project, which helps clients obtain clear title to their homes pre-disaster, Nancy is expanding services to four other Legal Services programs. She managed the BAVLP from 10/2011 – 1/2017 and served as Circuit Pro Bono Committee Administrator from 10/2011 – 9/2017. Nancy graduated from St. John’s University School of Law. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from Adelphi University. Nancy is a member of: the THBA Board, HAWL, the HCBA, the Executive Committee for the Florida PBCA, and is a past Hispanic Services Council Executive Board member.

Linda Mann is Team Leader of BALS’ South Shore Office in Ruskin and Director of BALS’ Fair Housing program, which works to improve the lives of clients facing housing discrimination. Before being appointed to her present position, Linda spent 13 years as a Staff Attorney with Team ABLE, during which time she was lead attorney for BALS' veterans’ services and BALS’ homeless outreach and prevention programs. Linda earned her undergraduate degree in Business Management from Eckerd College and graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Law.

Sarah McIlrath joined BALS in August 2016 as a Staff Attorney for the Florida Senior Legal Helpline. Before joining BALS, Sarah worked for legal services organizations in Georgia, Virginia, the District of Columbia and Hawaii. Sarah graduated with honors from the University of Florida, Levin College of Law in 2004 and Agnes Scott College in 2001 and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Georgia and the District of Columbia.

Carol Moody came to BALS in 1991 and manages the Senior Advocacy Unit (SAU). She is an honors graduate of Stetson University College of Law and holds degrees in psychology and journalism from the University of South Florida and the University of Florida. Under her leadership, the SAU has received national, state, and local recognition. In 2010, Carol was named as one of Tampa Bay’s “Top Lawyers” by Tampa Bay Magazine, and in 2011 received a “Salt and Pepper” Award from the West Central Florida Area Agency on Aging for her tireless work defending the legal rights of seniors.

Jim Moss is an attorney at BALS’ St. Petersburg office. He came to BALS in 2003 from Gulfcoast Legal Services where he worked as an attorney for 14 years, primarily in housing-related matters. Before graduating from the Stetson University College of Law, Jim earned a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Iowa, and served in the United States Navy for three years. Jim provides advice, brief services and direct representation to clients scheduled in the office for housing and consumer law cases, and handles a high volume of intake via BALS’ Legal Aid Line.

Sue-Helen Motley joined BALS as an attorney in the SAU in 1991. Sue earned her business and law degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and her Master's degree in Urban Affairs and Policy Analysis from Southern Illinois University. In 1999, Sue was one of two founding attorneys of the Senior Home Ownership Protection Program (SHOPP). The SHOPP program continues to provide advocacy and representation to seniors who are in danger of losing their homes. As a SHOPP attorney, Sue represents seniors in state court, federal district court, and bankruptcy court.

Erica Munz joined the firm in 2019 as a staff attorney in the Dade City office, focusing primarily on family law. Erica received her bachelor's from the University of South Florida, and her law degree and certificate of concentration in elder law from Stetson University College of Law. Erica has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2016, and her prior legal experience includes working as a child welfare Assistant State Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court and in private practice concentrating on guardianship, estate planning, and elder law.

Stephen F. Myers is a 1967 graduate of Florida Presbyterian College (now Eckerd College) and a 1970 graduate of Emory University Law School. He has been a general litigator in Tampa for more than 33 years, with emphasis on personal injury and insurance coverage. He started with BALS in October 2009, working part-time in the New Port Richey office. Mr. Myers began working full-time with Team ABLE in the Tampa office in June, 2010, and divides his time between foreclosure work with Team ABLE and domestic violence injunction practice with the Family Law Team.